#aph yao

Yao looks like a traditional guy. He looks young so Ace was shocked to hear that not only was Yao older than him (that's fine) but that he's thousands of years old. That's older than the void century.

Yao's the type to be transparent with the things he should hide. He told Ace that he killed a lot of people across multiple wars. He wasn't the most ethical towards animals. He was openly racist towards caucasians, in a passive-aggressive way.

Ace was asking Yao if he knew where he could darken the tattoo on his arm. Being scholar-ish, Yao teases Ace saying he's a 'bad boy' and a 'gangster' but Ace didn't care. He's a pirate. So what? Yao agreed to darken it for him.

Ace didn't trust Yao at the time.

"What makes you think you know a damn thing about tattoos?"

"You westerners are so frank." Yao called anyone who wasn't Asian a 'westerner'. "Trust me."

"How? Your 'medicine' nearly-"

"Fine!"

Yao stood up. Ace literally blushed when Yao started taking his shirt off but Yao insisted. At first, Ace saw smooth skin and a defined, albeit not-muscular chest.

Yao turned around and there's a long-winding snake tattoo beginning from his shoulder blades, swerving down to his hip. Yao said the snake pattern covered his whole back and Ace believed him.

He loved how detailed the shading was on the whole thing and how it made his waist and hip smaller. And then, abruptly, the snake's body ended just underneath his ponytail.

"What happened to its head?"

"Hmm?" Yao said. He was realised what Ace said and smiled brightly. "Cut to make soup! You want some?"

The scar was deep and disfigured his skin. Ace realised it was a stab wound made with a sword. Yao knew Ace could tell his bluff. Ace was knew that Yao knew. Yao continued talking about the different things you could do with snakes.

Medicines, cuisines, antidotes—it's a miracle creature to him! Ace didn't care, really.

He knew Yao was hiding something and he's right

Yao refused to tell Ace that his little brother Kiku tried to kill him once. It was a quiet night and Kiku said he wanted to practice painting alone. Kiku stabbed him while Yao drank the wine they brew together. It was the first time Yao got his heart broken.